A look at what’s going on across the convenience channel
BP partners with the Retail Trust
FORECOURTS giant BP has become the first energy company to join up with the Retail Trust charity.
Its 6,700 staff at company-owned retail sites across the UK will be able to access a range of personalised wellbeing resources, including a virtual GP and counselling.
The Retail Trust will also give BP retailers access to data, insights and plans to manage wellbeing and it will train more than 300 BP store managers.
Sonya Adams, of BP, said: “We will provide our teams with access to tools that boost their health and wellbeing, as well as seek to support the valuable work the trust is doing.”
Cash keeps the Post Office busy
CASH transactions at Post Offices totalled £3.35billion in June – the highest level since last September.
Bosses said the record levels were driven by continued bank closures – 500 have been announced this year – and highlighted the importance of Post Offices within communities.
The figure for Scotland was £229.24m, made up of £168.2m deposits and £61.04m withdrawals.
Post Office banking director Martin Kearsley said: “These figures clearly show that Britain is anything but a cashless society and people are reliant on cash as the tried and tested way to manage a budget.”
Alert over phone network switch-off
UK retailers and wholesalers face significant challenges as they head towards the 2025 nationwide switch-off of the public switched telephone network (PSTN), a survey claims.
The research, commissioned by global cloud and connectivity provider M247, has found that 93% of retail and wholesale businesses still rely on the PSTN for essential services, such as phone lines, broadband, CCTV cameras and many PDQ card payment devices.
This is despite the PSTN stop-sell next month, which will render businesses unable to place new orders for PSTN services, or make significant changes to existing services, and could hit retailers’ Golden Quarter sales.
Liz Hawke, of M274, said: “Retailers need to act now and adopt the right IP technology to avoid security risks and disruptions.”
